Bertelsmann, the world's fourth-largest media group, is eyeing acquisitions which could include parts of the BBC, after Mr Bill Clinton's memoirs and top music acts helped triple half-year profits.
The BBC said today it had talked to the German group and its bigger US rivals Time Warner and Disney about a possible sale of its BBC Worldwide unit, which owns assets such as magazines and stakes in TV channels.
Bertelsmann said it was not aware of any talks regarding BBC Worldwide, but chief executive Mr Gunter Thielen repeated he was ready to use his group's €2 billionwar chest to invest in growth.
German TV broadcaster RTL Group, which brings home most of Bertelsmann's earnings, also said it was not aware of talks with the BBC about BBC Worldwide, but added that parts of it could be interesting if it was possible to split them off.
Strong sales and earnings growth at RTL and music unit BMG helped Bertelsmann, owned by the founder's family and a Belgian investor, to post operating earnings of €596 million
in the six months to June, up from 186 million a year ago.
Former US president Mr Bill Clinton's My Life and top music acts including rapper Usher and singer Dido helped grow sales 3.2 per cent to €8.1 billion after years of decline. Cost cuts across the group also helped, Bertelsmann said.